This week, we got a re-adaptation of a true classic; "Emma" was the fourth and last work by Jane Austen that was published during her lifetime ("Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion" both got released after she passed away in 1817). In my view, "Emma" stands out in the Austen Cannon as the most lighthearted and least dramatic of her books; it hasn't been adapted as much as "Sense & Sensibility" and of course "Pride & Prejudice", but the mid-1990s (hah, one year after the "mid90s" sneak
) saw three of them in only one year - a BBC television production starring Kate Beckinsale, the Douglas McGrath version for the big screen starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and of course "Clueless" (Sneak #0049) by Amy Heckerling, which transpanted the action to modern-day Los Angeles and re-invented the title character as Cher (played by Alicia Silverstone), a "valley girl" highschool student. The 2020 version is a more faithful adaptation of the book by first-time scribe Eleanor Catton, the director Autumn de Wilde also makes her big-screen debut with this feature, but has decades of work in the fields of music videos, commercials and photography under her belt. Her background in photography is clearly visible in the trailer for "Emma.":
So, how did you like this period comedy with a period in its title? How did you enjoy the cinematography, the set design and costumes? What about the performances, starting with Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role, and her fouth sneak appearence after decidedly darker "The Witch" (#1109), "Split" (#1149) and "Thoroughbreds" (#1224)? Not forgetting the rest of the cast, which is not so well-known outside of Britain apart from Bill Nighy as Emmas Father Mr. Woodhouse? And most of all, how did you like the adaptation of the source material, the dialogues, the pacing, and the satire? Please write down your thoughts about "Emma." not in a letter to Robert Martin or the Westons, but in a reply to this post.
